A gas station clerk tried to snatch someone's $1 million dollar dreams, but Tennessee Lottery officials caught him in the act, and now he is behind bars.
The incident
A customer walked into a Shell gas station in Murfreesboro and purchased two scratch-off tickets. Instead of walking away a big winner, he walked away thinking he won $40 and moved past it.
However, detectives say the man won $1 million, and the gas station clerk tried to pocket it for himself!
According to detectives with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department, a customer came into the gas station and purchased two $20 Diamond and Gold lottery tickets from the clerk, 23-year-old Meer Patel.
Rather than scratch the tickets himself, the customer just scratched off the front bar code and asked Patel to check to see if they were winners. Many people do this, so it should not surprise anyone.
Lt. Detective Steve Craig said:
If you scratch off the front bar code, it will tell you if it's a winner or not, regardless if you scratch off everything, showing how much you won.
Two lucky winners
As it turns out, the customer was having a pretty lucky day. Craig says both of the tickets the customer bought were winners. However, Patel only handed the man back a $40 winner. He allegedly told the customer that the other one was a losing ticket and threw it in the trash. That ticket happened to be a $1 million winner!
Craig said:
He threw it on top of the trash. As the gentleman left, he took the trash out. On camera, you can see him grab the ticket and put it in his pocket.
Trying to claim the winnings
Not long after taking that winning ticket out of the trash, Patel decided to try and claim the winnings.
Craig continued:
He went to the lottery commission to claim the ticket as his own, but there were red flags, and they held onto the ticźet.
What Patel, and probably most people, likely didn't know is that lottery officials vet all big winners. The vetting process includes checking the security video of the tickets being purchased.
Lottery officials checked the security footage, and they saw evidence that Craig clearly stole the winning ticket from the trash.
Craig explained:
It's pretty obvious. Good enough to put in front of 12 jurors and they'll reach the same conclusion.
Patel has been arrested and booked into the Rutherford County Jail. Theft on a $1 million ticket is a Class A felony.
Actual winner gets his money
Even though Patel tried to steal it from the actual winner, the money ended up in the right hands. Lottery officials were able to use that security footage to determine the customer who bought the tickets.
While he asked to remain anonymous, he now finally has that $1 million that is rightfully his.
Enjoy playing the Tennessee Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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